Cultural Policy in the Arab Region has just published "Part Three of “The State of the Arts - Current Issues in Artistic and Literary Creativity in the Arab Region” first published at Jadaliyya website - 15/02/2018. Author of the article, Basma Al-Husseiny, will be part of the panel at The International Culture Seminar in Arendal, Norway, on 13th August 2018.

The success of the third edition of Visa For Music, in November 2016 illustrated the growth of this event on the international stage. It became an indispensable international marketplace for World and New Music of these regions, but also a professional platform for the music industry in Morocco and countries of the South.

VFM Ambiance @Visa for Music

The fourth edition of Visa for Music (VFM), organised in collaboration with the Moroccan Ministry of Culture and the Hiba Foundation, will be held in Rabat, Morocco, from 22 till 25 November 2017. This forum is one of the most important opportunities for cultural exchange and networking between musicians, agents, recording companies, artistic directors, cultural organisations, media, trainers and others involved in music in Africa and the Middle East.

On top of a sumptuous musical program, VFM 2017 includes numerous cultural activities such as honorary ceremonies, seminars, workshops and training courses, speed-meetings and a music industry and cultural expo. The official selection for this year's concert program features around 40 musicians/bands plus four DJ artists. You can check here the full list of artists.

This major musical forum is organized by the ANYA organization which is currently a participant in the fifth round of Culture Resource’s Abbara Program which seeks to support and empower independent cultural organisations in the Arab region.

Ettijahat-Independent Culture is currently organizing the MINA: Artistic Ports and Passages, which aims to celebrate the work of Syrian artists in Syria and neighboring countries. The art Forum will be held in Beirut from November 30 to December 3, 2017. It will include theatrical, cinematic, visual and musical performances by a number of art projects that have received support from the Laboratory of Arts programme –one of Ettijahat's programmes carried out in partnership with the Goethe Institute.

By Ettijahat

The MINA Forum is a space dedicated to highlight the reality of new artistic practices of Syrian artists who come to present their new works from Syria, Lebanon, Germany and France.

In addition to art performances, and in the presence and the participation of a number of experts, specialists and cultural actors, the Forum presents to its audience a series of open and closed seminars that address the issues of today's artistic practice in the Arab world.

The Forum also includes presentations of artistic projects still in progress by Syrian artists of various specialties, as well as the launching of a book entitled Now Then: Testimonials on Independent Syrian Cultural Work, which include testimonials by more than 80 artists and cultural actors from Syria and the world in cooperation with Mamdouh Adwan Publishing House.

The detailed program of the MINA Forum will be issued in Arabic and English during November.

PostedNovember 6, 2017

AuthorCato Litangen

Bobi Wine

""Art is the highest form of human intelligense. Our people are slowly embracing that, and art is connecting people". From intervju in "Voices"

It is not often that I meet cultural activists who enter the political system, as Bobi Wine has done with his place in parliament. Usually they stand outside, and see politics as the same affair as Bobi Wine now has experienced from inside. Cultural activists are massively involved in civil society, from where they work for democratization of both society and the political system. The Arab Spring in 2011 is the great example of the group's mobilization power. In Uganda, a similar mobilization is taking place right now. The question here is whether the president stops the music or the music stops him.

Voices: reflections on art and culture in Uganda

52 interviews with professionals in music, film, theatre, dance, visual art, comedy, literature and more. Unpacking the challenges, celebrating the achievements of Ugandan creativity, this book provides important insight into the arts and culture sector of Uganda.

Bayimba Cultural Foundation is managing sales and distribution.The book is being sold at:$10 or 30,000 UGXBayimba contact details as follows:Plot 50, Kenneth Dale-DriveKamwokyaP.O. Box 34806,

Mimetas vision is to give people access to free creative expressions, created on free terms and presented by independent institutions.

Our mission is to support and protect those who want to enhance a culture by aesthetic or intellectual means.

By both our vision and mission Mimeta highlight the impact arts have on developing open societies, including the culture itself and the political spfere.

On the strategic level Mimeta is acheiving results by supporting organisations and individuals who work on behalf of the arts, to improve the sectors´ position on rights issues, in political and legal matters, on professionalism and skills, the distribution of the arts and - in the end - the sustainability of the sector.